Michigan scrambles to address concerns about chemicals

While the city of Flint still recovers from a lead-tainted water crisis, Michigan is scrambling to combat potential health risks in other tap water relating to long-term chemical usage.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LANSING — While the city of Flint still recovers from a lead-tainted water crisis, Michigan is scrambling to combat potential health risks in other tap water that stem from chemicals long used in firefighting, waterproofing, carpeting and other products.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been detected at military bases, water treatment plants and, most recently, an old industrial dump site for footwear company Wolverine World Wide. The contaminants, classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as “emerging” nationally, have sparked enough concern that Gov. Rick Snyder created a state response team and approved $ 23 million in emergency spending.

The chemicals do not break down easily and can migrate from soil to groundwater. They were used in scores of U. S. industrial applications and have been detected in human and animal blood around the globe. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says scientists are uncertain about how they affect human health at exposure levels typically found in food and water. But some studies suggest the chemicals might affect fetal development, disrupt hormonal functions, damage fertility and immune systems and boost the risk of cancer.

At least 1,000 homes with private wells in the Plainfield Township area north of Grand Rapids — near where Wolverine dumped hazardous waste decades ago — have been tested for PFAS contamination in recent months.

Cody Angell, 28, who lives in the area, said he has had “sleepless nights,” even though his home is on the local water system that has been deemed safe. He’s concerned because the chemicals have been discovered in the municipal supply, and Plainfield Township for years pulled water from backup wells that have tested positive for the substances. He wonders if PFAS contamination caused his mother’s thyroid disease.

Angell said he lacks confidence in state regulators, pointing to their failures that led to Flint’s crisis. Environmental activist and legal consultant Erin Brockovich recently met with area residents, urging them to join a class-action lawsuit that alleges Wolverine illegally disposed of PFAS from Minnesotabased 3M’s Scotchgard product in the area. The suit seeks financial damages and steps such as targeted, more frequent medical testing.

Another lawsuit alleges that a family of four living near Wolverine’s unlined tannery waste dump drank highly contaminated well water for 17 years, causing the father to develop colon cancer, the mother to have a miscarriage and one of their children to develop a rare bone cancer.

The chemicals have been identified at 28 sites in 14 Michigan communities. Nearly half are on or near military installations, where the source is believed to be firefighting foam.

The $23 million will be used to hire new state employees to sample and analyze well water, buy lab equipment and help public health departments with unexpected response costs. Samples have been sent to California because no Michigan labs can test for the chemicals; state officials want quicker results.

“People are starting to get an understanding of a whole class of chemicals that ... are in so many things. How much of that is getting into our systems? I don’t think people really know,” said state Rep. Chris Afendoulis, a Republican whose district includes the Wolverine dump area. He warned it could become “a nationwide problem.”

Of about 1,050 homes tested in neighborhoods north of Grand Rapids, 74 had PFAS levels above 70 parts per trillion.

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